Projects

McCollum Hall Documents

McCollum Hall Restoration Project

McCollum Hall Exterior Restoration Kick-Off Photos

Senator Benacquisto/CRA Commissioners/CRA Advisory Board/Project Team

Project Team

McCollum Hall Presentation

McCollum Place

McCollum Hall is the historic treasure that caps off the western end of the MLK district, cited as one of the main landmarks to be revitalized by the 2006 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & Veronica S. Shoemaker Boulevards Revitalization Plan.

Built in 1938, it was the local stop on the Chitlin Circuit, the nickname given to segregated venues where famous African American artists and entertainers performed. Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, B. B. King, Count Basie, and other great talents brought world-class entertainment to Fort Myers in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In 2008, the CRA purchased McCollum Hall to restore it to its former glory. The new McCollum Place will be a cultural town-center with several retail spaces and a restaurant on the first floor. McCollum’s second floor will be a multi-use event space. McCollum Place’s rejuvenation will also support the community by creating 75 local jobs, 63 of which will be permanent.

McCollum Hall, a locally designated historic landmark, has received a 2015 Historic Preservation Special Category Grant in the amount of $500,000 to continue the restoration efforts that have been underway since 2012. Check back to get project schedule and updates in the first quarter of 2015.